Rack for cans



July 4, 1950 T. N. ELLIOTT RACK FOR CANS Filed Aug. 29, 194'? INVENTOR T. N. ELLIOTT yIEIEEIHEE il ATTORNEYS Patented July 4, 195

UNITEDA STATE-s PATENT kOFFICE Thomas Nelson Elliott, lackstone, Va;

Application August 29, 1947, Serial No. 771,325

This invention relates to racks for holding cans of that type used in the disposal of garbage, trash and the like.

For many years, the use of cans for holding garbage and trash has proven a nuisance and an expense both to the housewife and those municipal agencies having the responsibility of collecting the garbage and trash and of sanitation. Such cans are frequently roughly handled, and the can, particularly the lid portion, becomes dented and no longer may be properly closed.

When this occurs and the cans are overturned by dogs, cats, and frequently children, the lids are lost, and a health menace is created by the garbage attracting mice and rats and spreading the germs. It is estimated that approximately eighty per cent of such can lids. are lost in this manner shortly after the cans are placed in use.

In an eiort to solve this problem, many devices have been made. A number of these have taken the form of racks to hold the cans to prevent their displacement or overturning. For various reasons these have not proven sufficiently practical to gain acceptance by the general public.

The object of the present invention is. to provide a rack for garbage cans and the like which will be sufficiently rugged to withstand rough handling, and at the same time capable of operation with sullicient ease to be managed by the housewife and to speed the job of the collector.

Another object of the invention is to .provide a, rack for cans, in which the can lid becomes a part of the rack and is braced thereby to prevent its easy deformation.

A further object is to provide means to guide the lid to closed position so that it will not strike the can and be damaged thereby.

Still another object is to provide means to support the can lid in raised position during the placing of garbage in the can or the removal of the can from the rack so that the lid will not fall upon the can or against the rack.

. A still further object of the invention is to provide a rack in which the can is snugly held, yet is readily removable without danger of striking the rack or the handles of the can becoming caught on part of the rack structure.

Yet another object is the provision of a can rack which may be readily converted from a single rack to a double rack.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description of one practical embodiment of the invention, when taken in conjunction with the drawings which accompany and form a part of this specication.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a double rack constructed in accordance with the present ir.- vention with two cans in the rack;

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-147) '2 Figure 2 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a vertical section through one section of the rack and the can placed therein;

"and lpartially raised.

The invention in general comprises a rack having an annular base member with brackets secured to the outside thereof at diametrically opposite points to'receive and rigidly support a pair of vertical posts. Means Afor hingedly supporting a can lid is carried by one of the posts, and means for securing the lid in closed position is carried by the other post.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the base I may be simply a horizontally positioned ring or hoop-like member of such size as to snugly receive the bottom of a, garbage, trash, or like can 2, of predetermined size. The base member is provided with a bottom 3 upon which the can rests to keep it from contacting the ground. The bottom is preferably of skeleton form, so that complete and rapid draining may be effected to prevent rusting of the bottom of the can. Brackets 4 and 5 are welded, riveted, or otherwise secured to theopposite sides of the annular base that, if desired, anchoring posts I0, shown in dotrted lines, may be screwed in from the under side and imbedded in the ground or a cement foundation block, if such is used. The rack will have sucient weight so that it cannot be easily overturned even if unanchored, and the use of the anchoring posts will be a matter of personal preference.

Brackets 4 and 5 are sufficiently long, and the openings 6 and "I so placed in the brackets that posts 8 and?! will rise well spaced from the Widest diameter of the can 2, to permit easy removal o f the can. It will be evident that both brackets may be of the type of bracket 4, where a rack for a single can is desired. Bracket 5 is for use `on a double rack, and is considerably longer than bracketr 4, and is symmetrical about the centrally positioned opening 6, providing means for attachment to a second annular base member I.

' A hinge block I I, having a threaded opening I2 in its under side is screwed ont-o the upper y.end of., post 9. The upper face of block II slopes 'upwardly from its transverse center line toward its outer edges, forming inclined surfaces I2, the surfaces I2 being recessed near each outer edge of the block to form seats I3, suiciently deep to it cannot become lost.

receive the folded leaves of hinges I4, one leaf of each hinge being secured to its seat I3 by screws or other suitable means. Obviously, ijf only a single rack. is desired, only one hingefis attached to the block, the other recess I3 being unused.

The other leaf of each hinge I4 is secured to the end of a combination lid locking and brace member I5, which is in the form of a strap of -iiat metal stock bent to substantially conform to the cross-sectional contour of the can lid I6. yThe can lid is fastened to the member 'I5'by bolts 'or'l other easily applied fastening means Il. The member I5 serves to stiffen the lid to a great' 'extent, and also secures the lid to the rack so that A handle I8 maybe carried by the brace member` I5,`to facilitate raising and lowering the lid.

The outer end of the vbrace member kI5'is bent to lie in a horizontal plane when the lid is 'in closed position, and a guide block I9 is xed to the under side thereof. Guide block I9 has a tapered recess extending vertically into its under side, which is adapted to seat on the tapered upper end 2I of the post 8. The size and position of the guide block I9 is such that it *will strike the upper end of post B before the can lid strikes the upper side edges ofthe can if the lid isnot centered above lthe can. This will prevent damage to the can 'and lid. If the :lid in closing is but slightly off center, the recess in the guide blockl will engagethe tapered end of post 8 and guide the lid to a proper-seat. This will ensure the proper fitting of the lid during the life of the can.

Beyond guide block I9 the vbrace lmember I5 is bent to form a transverse recess at its outer end. A slot 22 extends inwardly from the end of the strip, dividing the-end portion embracing the recess, into two hook-like elements 23, which vserve 1 as keepers for a spring tensioned locking device. Fixed to the post 8 is a U-shaped housing 24, having a `pin 25 extending across its lower portion to form an anchor for one end of a coil spring 26.

The upper end of the spring is connected to a` link 2l which is provided with an eye to receive a handle 28. Handle 28 is .preferably of rectangular form, having .an oset on its lower side. The eye of link 21 engages the offset portion, and the shoulders 29, formed on either side of the offset will engage the hook elements 23 to tightly hold the lid in place on the can.

In use, the rack is placed in a selected spot, and if desired, anchored by the posts I0. A garbage or trash can is then placed in the rack, being seated within the annular base ring I, upon the bottom members 3. The can lid I9 is next bolted to the brace member I5, and the rack is ready for service. The -lid may be easily raised and lowered by grasping the handle I8, and when i raised to the fullest extent w-ith the leaves of `theY hinge closed, the lid will rest upon the inclined surface I2 of the hinge block, positioning the lid at an angle. To reach this position, the -lid passes .beyond a dead center position, thus throwing -its 3 weight upon the hinge block and becoming selfsustaining. This places the lid completely vout of way of the can, so that lthe can may be removed from the rack without interference. As the lid is closed, the guide block `l9fleads it to ya proper seat, whereupon the locking handle 28 is pulled upward, extendin'g'the springw26 until the link 'may be slipped into the'slot '22; The upward pull on the locking handle is then released, allowing the spring to draw the shoulders 29 of the locking handle into thehookelements `23. The can is then safe frointaclcidental removal of the lid. ,l

While in the above there has been disclosed one practical embodiment of the invention it is to be understood that the precise embodiment shown and described is merely by way of example and not tober construed as limiting the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as vmy invention is:

1. A rack for holding garbage, trash and like cans comprising, an annular recessed base member to receive and position a can vand having portions offset therefrom, said oiset portions having openings therein spaced from said annular recess, vertical postsxed in said openings, a lid brace hingedly Iconnected to one of said posts and adapted toseat upon another of said posts, said lid brace being an elongated member bentv to substantially conform to the cross-sectional shape of a can lid'to closely embrace said can lid and having means for attachmentto-said'can'lidsaid bent portion of said bracebeing so positioned between the ends of saidbracethat the can lid carried thereby will be in'axial alignment with the recess in said base when ysaid brace is seated upon said posts, means carried by said lid brace to guide said brace to its-seat, complementary guide means carried by the post upon `which the brace seats, and releasable means to hold said lid brace in seated position;v n Y f 2. A rack for holding garbage, trash andlike cans comprisinggan annular recessed base Vmerriber vto receive and position a can and having portions oilset therefrom, said offset portions having openings therein spaced from said annular-recess, vertical posts xed in said openings, a hinge block secured to the top of one ci said posts, a lid vbrace hingedly connected `to said hinge block and adapted to seat uponanother of said posts, said lid brace being an elongated vmember bent to substantially conform to the lcross-sectional shape of a can lid to closely embrace said can lid and having means for attachment to said can lid said bent' portion of saidv brace vbeing so positioned between the ends of saidfbrace that the can lid carried thereby will be yin axial 'alignment' TnoI-.ms `iu'ELSoTN` ELLIOTT- REFERENCES orrEn The following references are of record inthe le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 664,555 Jewett Dec. 25, 1900 664,555 Jewett Dec. 25, 1900 899,031 Davis f Sept22, 1908 John Oct. ,28, 1941 

